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A Gambian army officer accused former president Yahya Jammeh of ordering the murder of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004 and acknowledged that he was involved in the killing.
Hydara, editor-in-chief and co-founder of the independent daily The Point, correspondent for the AFP News Agency and Journalists Without Borders (RSF), was killed by unidentified gunmen in his vehicle in December 2004 in the suburbs. from the capital, Banjul. .
"We opened fire, Alieu Jen and Sana Manjang, myself," Lt. Malick Jatta said Monday during a public hearing before a truth commission. He named two other military officers responsible for the murder of Hydara.
"Our commander, Captain Tumbul Tamba, communicated by telephone with former President Yahya Jammeh during the operation.He told him:" Yes, your Excellency, "", a- he declared.
Jatta told the commission that his commander had given him an envelope containing dollars. According to him, it was "a sign of appreciation of the great man", a reference to Jammeh.
"I would be sure that it was from the former president.Tumbul had no source of funding," he said.
Jatta said that one of the cars used during the badbadination came from Jammeh's fleet and was normally parked in the former autocratic garage in Kanifing, near Banjul.
He said that they ambushed Hydara and left, but the name of their victim was not revealed to them. The reporter was in a car with two women at the time he was shot.
Jammeh had said in a Gambian television interview that the government had "no interest" in the murder. He hinted that the love life of Hydara had led to the murder.
Extradition to Gambia
Until his testimony, no public confessions or evidence linking the former president to the murder of the journalist were known. Jammeh, now living in exile, has denied any involvement in the murder of Deyda.
"The day is sad for Gambian journalists," said Sheriff Bojang Jr., president of the Gambia Press Union.
Jammeh took power during a bloodless state coup in 1994 and ruled for more than 22 years, until his dismissal in 2017.
His refusal to leave power after losing a presidential election triggered a regional crisis that ended when Jammeh agreed to live in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Supported by the United Nations, the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission of The Gambia was set up in October to investigate allegations of violations committed during his 22-year rule.
In 2017, NGOs and families of victims killed under the Jammeh regime, including Hydara's son, launched an international campaign to bring the former despot to justice.
Pap Babucarr Saine, colleague of Hydara and editor of The Point, told the truth commission that Hydara had been killed for writing about the corruption that reigned in The Gambia under Jammeh.
"He has always sensitized the public about the regime's corrupt practices and the rights violations that were perpetrated at the time," local newspapers said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Monday in a statement that Mr. Jammeh should be extradited to The Gambia for trial.
"For 15 years, CPJ has called on the Gambian authorities to make every effort to bring the perpetrators of Dehyda Hydara to justice," said Angela Quintal, a member of the Commission. The CPJ Africa Program Coordinator said.
"[On Monday]Yahya Jammeh himself was accused of having ordered the killing of a respected journalist.
"Jammeh should be extradited to The Gambia without delay for him to be tried for the murder of Hydara and other abuses committed during his reign."
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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